Team Microbe steps into Guerrilla Country...

[harold]

sounds like bind weed hamstring. White sap in the stems?

your giving me a heart attack just looking at those bales your make a very determined grow partner! loving the show!

 

[Team Microbe]

Im having issues with the same leaf hoppers.
Ive used Azamax and Insecticidal Soap and they're still there.
You got any products you like to use on them?

I don't do anything about the hoppers, they haven't given me grief yet and I haven't really notice anything negative from them. I've read that they feed off of the leaves though so we'll have to keep an eye out... the only thing I can think of is a neem/karanja foliar spray or an essential oil spray with rosemary.

TM
Dude promix bags bags look so familiar. The only thing i do different is while carrying them on my back I warp them in a camo tarp. Other than that I say " Hey you stole my promix."

I have never preped a whole bed before I do it hole by hole. Wanted to get your thoughts on why you do it that way? The cons I see are less security, more amendments needed and more work.

The pros are less fighting with native veg. In my non-marsh plots I am always fighting the native veg for space. THose F-ing vines, don't know the name of them, they have heart shaped leaves and white flowers when in bloom. They attack my home flower beds and vegy garden every year. They grow 12 inchs in a day. The warp themselves around and around my plants and start starving them of light. I hate those little buggers.

I have thought many times of still using holes but treating the area like a bed. slashing the native veg down to the ground. That way it still grows back but not fast enough to compete with my plants. I'm just to security driven to get my self to do it. I know for fact I loose yield and even whole plants to native veg especially in the lowlands where water and sunshine are abundant. Native veg grows so thick and fast but it almost makes me laugh "almost" to think that same thick ass native veg dies back late august exposing your plants for all eyes to see. Crazy shit if you look for the irony in it.

I do it hole by hole as well, I just wanted to stick a patch of girls there this year to build the soil for next year. Ill plant only 4 big girls there next year add some more soil to the already-composted batch that's there now. I don't see much more than 60 degree sight lines out of this patch since it's chopped into the hillside like it is, and my gut tells me I'll be ok with choppers. I could be wrong though. As far as work goes, it's the same amount as if you were digging separate holes considering youre adding the same amount of dirt in the end. Another reason for digging the bed is that the roots will have more room to spread out and intermingle compared to the 3' diameter of my holes. We'll see how it works out, I'm always experimenting rather than playing it safe I feel like lol

 

[Team Microbe]

sounds like bind weed hamstring. White sap in the stems?

your giving me a heart attack just looking at those bales your make a very determined grow partner! loving the show!

thanks harold!

 

[HunterJ]

Good to see you still going strong TM.

Sites look real nice, plenty of cover on good soil.

BTW, had your tetanus shot? When I was prepping those holes I mentioned I told the doc I was out bush a lot and he insisted I get mine renewed, since I was getting scratched a lot.

Yeah, you've gotta be real careful out alone. I always tell one trusted in case I don't get back within certain hours.

Keep up the good work ...

 

[HunterJ]

Oh! I also have a Jack Herer male plant from Sensi Seeds that I'm not sure what I'm doing with yet. I've never collected pollen or dabbled with breeding since my grow is restricted to one bedroom but I think I'm going to collect pollen outside this year from him. I was really hoping for a female but maybe this happened for a reason and I was meant to make an amazing Jack Herer hybrid?! Ohhhh how a head can dream....

Wondering, are you intending to store the pollen or use it to make seed this time round? Never tried myself but hear pollen doesn't last long ...

 

[Team Microbe]

Good to see you still going strong TM.

Sites look real nice, plenty of cover on good soil.

BTW, had your tetanus shot? When I was prepping those holes I mentioned I told the doc I was out bush a lot and he insisted I get mine renewed, since I was getting scratched a lot.

Yeah, you've gotta be real careful out alone. I always tell one trusted in case I don't get back within certain hours.

Keep up the good work ...

I think I got mine last T shot a year ago... does that protect against more than just rust or something?

I really should start telling someone where I go, you make a good point. I never thought about that before...

I'm not sure how to collect pollen or pollinate properly yet but I'll have a month or two to figure that out. I'll take a female out there and do it directly, or I'll collect it in a bag and then attempt to pollinate single branches with the bag method. Have yet to do either like I said, so it should make for an interesting new chapter

 

[Nes]

What about somewhere along train tracks? That's a common loop hole to get deep into the woods without having to bushwack/trespass.

The indoor project should be sick, best of luck man

Be careful, in the usa, all train tracks are the private property of the railroad. Simply walking on them is enough to be stopped and sighted for tresspass on railroad property. Got one in california back when i road freight. If the picture in the first post is of the track, they look like active tracks (you can tell if the top of the rail is shiny vs rusty and weathered). May not be a busy line, but looks like an active one. In some place, the tracks are patrolled occasionally by railroad company police. Yes, BNSF, UP... they all have their own police forces.

Looks awesome, though TM! definately watchin this one

 

[GEMiNi GENETiCS]

TM....to ensure you have a sensi crop and get seeds this is what I would do. Let the males grow ... as many as possible for diversity(don't want an early bottle neck) in the f1 generation then you can be selective on specific traits for future generations. Let the males grow once you see some decent clusters forming strip everything except the top 12-20" (different sections of the plant mature quicker this will help minimize accidental pollination). Once clusters are forming chop the main male cola..... bring them all home ..... put them each in a cup of water....cut a slit in a dark piece of paper(to see pollen its difficult on white paper) then slide that around the stem to catch the falling pollen....set a cfl on 12/12 to get them to flower quicker.....once you get a bunch of pollen keep strains separate but mix pollen from same strains. Pollinate select lower branches ... I mark mine using different color wire and I just use one color per strain so I know the branch has a blue wire which means it was pollinated with xyz pollen.

I guess this process depends on your ability to have plants in your house or not.

 

[HunterJ]

Rust isn't the problem - "the rust itself does not cause tetanus nor does it contain more C. tetani bacteria. The rough surface of rusty metal merely provides a prime habitat for C. tetani endospores to reside in, and the nail affords a means to puncture skin and deliver endospores deep within the body at the site of the wound." from here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanus

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

I don't do anything about the hoppers, they haven't given me grief yet and I haven't really notice anything negative from them. I've read that they feed off of the leaves though so we'll have to keep an eye out... the only thing I can think of is a neem/karanja foliar spray or an essential oil spray with rosemary.

Ive read that they inject a toxin of some kind when they feed on the leaves or stems and can really ruin a good yield.
The flowers will be drastically reduced in size and vigor.
I sprayed again with the Safer Brand Insect Soap yesterday.
Most are gone, but still have spittlebugs and hoppers here and there.
Im getting some essential oil spray w/ rosemary. TYVM!

 

[Team Microbe]

Be careful, in the usa, all train tracks are the private property of the railroad. Simply walking on them is enough to be stopped and sighted for tresspass on railroad property. Got one in california back when i road freight. If the picture in the first post is of the track, they look like active tracks (you can tell if the top of the rail is shiny vs rusty and weathered). May not be a busy line, but looks like an active one. In some place, the tracks are patrolled occasionally by railroad company police. Yes, BNSF, UP... they all have their own police forces.

Looks awesome, though TM! definately watchin this one

Good lookin out on that one Nes, that explains who the trucks were that drive on the tracks. I set up a game camera for a few weeks before I chose the spot to see what went down and there were some trucks for the tracks that would go by every now and then. I've been getting comfortable during the daytime when the trains aren't there but now I need to remember that those guys could still come lurking! I usually go after 7pm to lesson my chances of running into anyone, the camera showed that they leave work no later than 5pm. It's an active track, but the lights next to the track tell me if theres a train up ahead or if one's pulled up off to the side to let another train pass. It's a great idea if you get comfortable with the tracks since nobody goes back there besides the workers... now I'm just praying none of them smell my plants

 

[Team Microbe]

Be careful, in the usa, all train tracks are the private property of the railroad. Simply walking on them is enough to be stopped and sighted for tresspass on railroad property. Got one in california back when i road freight. If the picture in the first post is of the track, they look like active tracks (you can tell if the top of the rail is shiny vs rusty and weathered). May not be a busy line, but looks like an active one. In some place, the tracks are patrolled occasionally by railroad company police. Yes, BNSF, UP... they all have their own police forces.

Looks awesome, though TM! definately watchin this one

Ive read that they inject a toxin of some kind when they feed on the leaves or stems and can really ruin a good yield.
The flowers will be drastically reduced in size and vigor.
I sprayed again with the Safer Brand Insect Soap yesterday.
Most are gone, but still have spittlebugs and hoppers here and there.
Im getting some essential oil spray w/ rosemary. TYVM!

Oh damn, no shit. I thought they were harmless, guess not lol

That essential oil sounds perfect, I've been meaning to try that stuff for ticks instead of permethrin. Thanks for the warning brother!

 

[Nes]

Sounds like you did some good reconnaissance. chances are the trucks are maintenance workers, usually they are - though not always. They work for the same corporation as the railroad police though.

For anyone thinking about this, a good railroad atlas will tell you not only where your local tracks go, but also the amount of freight in tons that moves annually along that line. This will give you an idea of how busy the tracks are. you can find railroad atlases at good local libraries.

Dunno if this observation helps, but in regards to siding trains, since the tracks are owned by freight companies, they have the right of way over amtrack. This means passenger trains always pull over for freight. Sometimes they side for hours. In some cases they'll let passengers out to smoke and stretch their legs.

 

[HunterJ]

Oh damn, no shit. I thought they were harmless, guess not lol

That essential oil sounds perfect, I've been meaning to try that stuff for ticks instead of permethrin. Thanks for the warning brother!

+ @[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OvergrowDaWorld

[/FONT]From here - http://gardening.about.com/od/insectpestid/a/Spittlebugs.htm

"Although spittlebug nymphs do feed on plant sap, the damage is minimal and populations are usually small, so no pesticide is necessary. A strong blast with a hose should be enough to dislodge a spittlebug nymph. They’ll be gone in a few weeks anyway. In extreme cases, they can cause stunting and weaken plants or reduce yields. If you should have a severe infestation, remove plant debris in the fall and till the soil to reduce egg population."

IME growing/gardening, which granted is not extensive, these and other kinds of hoppers are not a problem unless in larger numbers. Nevertheless I'd always evict any I found but I doubt the need of pesticide, YMMV.

On another note, Neem oil, emulsified, can be used as a systemic insect repellent. ozzieAI has done some testing on it - https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=260048

Thing about good Neem oil is it has to be fresh as it's insect repellent properties diminish over time - according to an importer here, who use the older oil for soaps etc.

 

[Team Microbe]

Sounds like you did some good reconnaissance. chances are the trucks are maintenance workers, usually they are - though not always. They work for the same corporation as the railroad police though.

For anyone thinking about this, a good railroad atlas will tell you not only where your local tracks go, but also the amount of freight in tons that moves annually along that line. This will give you an idea of how busy the tracks are. you can find railroad atlases at good local libraries.

Dunno if this observation helps, but in regards to siding trains, since the tracks are owned by freight companies, they have the right of way over amtrack. This means passenger trains always pull over for freight. Sometimes they side for hours. In some cases they'll let passengers out to smoke and stretch their legs.

I learn something on every post you post man, thank you!! I didn't know the right of way rule and now I'll definitely keep an eye out to see if the train stopped may have passengers aboard. I'll look into the atlas as well... that may be a good source for next year. Thanks again brother

 

[Team Microbe]

UPDATE:

UPDATE:

Stopped in to see what was up today, and I'm glad I did before I caught a male plant that was just open to bust open his pollen all over my girls! Fuck. That was so close. I buried him under a pile of dirt to be safe. The girls are lookin good though, I think they're still playing catch up:

Blue Widow 4 weeks ago

Blue Widow today



She was showing great vigor, I hit her and the rest of the girls with a BT foliar spray (since I've been seeing some caterpillar bites in the leaves lately), a top dress to kick flowering into gear, and topped each plant's cola branches to help with mold. I've never seen mold grow on a Blue Widow but if there's anywhere that it will it's here. Fog hovers in this swamp since it's the lowest parcel in the area... but we'll see how things unfold! I have high hopes

I was blessed with this stream that never dries up during the dry season... carrying these 6 gallon jugs side by side is a breeze too compared to 5 gal buckets. The ergonomics allow your feet to walk without clanking into the buckets the whole way. I can honestly carry 12 gallons twice as far as I can 10 gallons in buckets. A must have for those without auto watering systems I'd say

The last 2 are Purple Elephant x Ortega
(by Red Eye Genetics)


This swamp is putting out girls TWICE as big as my dry land plot already. I got a pretty late start this year but with the water table being so close to the surface the swamp crop is growing much much faster. I'm not going to bother growing on dry land spots anymore if mold isn't an issue here... the water is never ending. I never have to water by hand here (the 6 gal containers are for my dry plot). When this place floods it'll raise the table to just above ground level some of the deeper spots, and about ground level in the places I plant. I'm going to add another bale per hole at the end of this season, bury some chicken manure and mulch on top of that mound to allow it to break down over winter and spring. If all goes well then I'll have some ready-to-plant mounds teaming with life! That was my hold up this year, not allowing time for amendments to break down. Lesson learned...

 

[Team Microbe]

That's what we like to see, pistols baby

Blue Widow is looking good as stated above, but I noticed something that looks like a deficiency of some kind:

Any ideas?

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

Thats just mosaic me thinks. It happens on some Chem genetics Ive grown. Nothing to worry about at all.

Just to be safe....check under the leaf. If you see tiny black spots with a tinier white spot on 1 side of it, its spider mites. I dont think thats what it is... from the picture.
Just turn it over to be safe.

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Pretty normal mosaic type pattern some genetics carry. I've seen it in several blue plants I've grown out. Like ODW said nothing to worry about. Apparently if you up the magnesium on the chemd when it does that it goes away. I've never bothered.

 

[HunterJ]

Looking good m8. If ur concerned about mold in the swamp check this guys threads on neem oil as a systemic preventative (not just for insects) - https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=260048

Where I live mold is expected and one rose in the garden has got it every year, roses die here. This year I started giving it a few mls of neem oil in a weekly watering and almost no mold to be seen, am erring on the side of caution but will up the dose to see if it eliminates the mold altogether - will post here.

You're right about the jerry cans (what we call 'em) versus the buckets, much easier to carry without strain.